Sarhad Provincial Conservation Strategy - IUCN

9
9 . 2 . 3
C O M M U N I C A T I O N & E D U C A T I O N
Capacity Building for Environmental Education
T h rough Human Resource Development
Teacher training courses must provide teachers with
the opportunities to become experienced in resolving
environmental issues. Teachers have to be fully
equipped with effective methods for introducing environmental
education in appropriate subject areas.
Similarly, teacher perceptions also need to change.
Often, teachers do not see any connection between
what they are teaching and environmental concepts
and issues. Consequently, they do not feel that it is
their responsibility to teach about the environment.
Environmental educators are in short supply in
Pakistan. Certificate courses in environmental education
are not available in the country. Jordanhill
College, at the University of Strathclyde, Scotland,
runs a three-month certificate course on environmental
education, awareness, and communication. The
course is designed for international participants.
Fourteen people from Pakistan have already participated.
Eight of these have been absorbed by the
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and IUCN;
one has left for further studies. Both organizations
conduct workshops and develop materials for
teacher training.
The Bureau of Curriculum Development and
Education Extension Services also suggested that
prior to embarking upon curriculum revision it will
be necessary to set up groups of master trainers for
environmental education. The training of trainers
and master trainers would be a more strategic use
of the few environmental educators available.
Given the opportunity and the resources, their
expertise could be made available to the provincial
Education Department. On-going collaboration
between IUCN, WWF, and the Bureau could produce
very rich results in terms of quality and quantity
of trainers and master trainers. The EPA could
also make a valuable contribution. It has an intimate
knowledge of the environmental issues of the
NWFP and awareness raising is a principal part of
its mandate.
The Bureau’s thoughtful analysis of capacity building
for environmental education omitted one impor-
98 SARHAD PROVINCIAL CONSERVATION STRATEGY
tant element. Teachers—however well-equipped and
motivated—can bring about change only if their
supervisors support them. The same logic will apply
at all levels of education. The appropriate directorates
and hierarchical levels will need to be well
informed about, and oriented to, the needs of and for
environmental education.
9 . 2 . 4
Institutional Infrastru c t u re
The present infrastructure of the Education
Department can easily lend itself to the above initiatives
in human resource development. The Bureau of
Curriculum Development and Education Extension
Services is responsible for curriculum development;
the in-service training of teachers; pre-service training
and the refinement and distribution of learning materials,
teachers’ guides, and kits. To manage these
vitally important functions, the Bureau has only a
small team of approximately 20 officers, including
the Director. The subject specialists, an audio-visual
officer, and a group of instructors working under a
chief instructor are all involved in some way with
either the design or delivery of training.
Approximately 30 reorientation courses for all
categories of in-service teachers are conducted
each year by the Extension Services. Instructors for
elementary courses as well as Primary Teaching
Certificate and Certificate of Teaching teachers are
just two of the categories receiving training. In rural
areas, the NWFP has to rely heavily on poorly
trained teachers. The Education Department has
taken an innovative step and since 1991 has delivered
a crash training programme during the summer
and winter vacations. Each year master trainers
are trained and ad hoc centres are set up. In 1993-
94, 83 ad hoc centres were set up for the summer
vacations and a further 22 during winter. In total
3,024 teachers were trained in the summer and
1,059 in the winter. The content and materials for
in-service training are not prescribed by the Federal
Ministry of Education. This leaves each province
free to take those measures most effective for meeting
its own needs. Environment should be introduced
into this programme.